Cheney’s indictment

In case you didn’t hear, Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales were earlier this month indicted by a South Texas grand jury on charges relating to abuses at privately-run federal prisons.  Mr. Cheney has around $85 million invested in Vanguard, which in turn invests in several of the companies running these prisons.  The district attorney feels that due to this investment, Vice President Cheney is complicit in abuses perpetrated at the prisons.

Gonzales is accused of using his position as attorney general to block an investigation into the prisons.

Now, based on what I know of the case from media reports (I haven’t read the indictment), the case against Vice President Cheney appears pretty lousy.  Mr. Cheney is guilty of violating many laws of this nation, of truly greivous assaults on our Constitution, and there is no one whom would enjoy seeing him prosecuted more than I;  but this case appears to be a stunt.

We simply cannot hold people accountable for the actions of companies in which they are invested but not directly involved.  If I invest in a meat supplier, and there’s an outbreak of diseased meat, and someone dies, should there relatives be able to hold me, an investor, responsible?  I think not.

Mr. Cheney appears to be at most guilty of making lousy investments.

As for Mr. Gonzales, blocking investigations seems to have been the hallmark of his tenure as Attorney General.  As such I consider it wholly possible that he blocked the investigation mentioned in the indictment.  It is doubtful, though, that this prosecutor can do anything with the indictment.  His inclusion of Mr. Cheney and other parties in the indictment, as well as comments he has made publicly, make it hard to treat this action as anything other than a stunt.